𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐆𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄

38; 𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚎𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 (𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚞𝚍𝚎)

a/n: this will be in joshua's pov!

H O N G J I S O O

i was half awake.

how will i get out of this situation? i can't pretend that i'm just about to wake up! i'm bad at acting! if i put on an illusion now, jeonghan will notice. please, please, give me a divine intervention. i need to get out of here.

his hand is on my back! "did you like yesterday and today, joshuji? you wanted some space from me and my flirting, right? bet you missed me, joshuji." said jeonghan, making the ever pretentious me almost smile.

i held the smile back, thankfully. i just kind of missed that nickname, though i've heard it not too long ago. also, that reminds me, i've called him nicknames, right? did he notice?

i hope he did. it's one sign that i'm getting used to him.

"you should wake up now, it's not advisable for you to sleep here!" the warmth of jeonghan's hand was gone from my back, and i shivered a little. maybe he noticed, because he placed his hand on my back again. he starts caressing me. like putting a kid to sleep after reading a book.

does he know that i'm awake? or does he only offer this warmth because he's always like this anyway?

"sir, park gumi has requested a meeting." i jolt up, and turned my computer on. jeonghan was probably startled at how fast i reacted.

"oh my god, you almost gave me a heart attack!" jeonghan exclaimed. when i glanced at him, he was breathing overdramatically while a hand of his was on his chest. "that could wake you up, huh?"

"what?" i ask, pretending to be innocent. jeonghan luckily didn't see my face. i was smiling, and if i get caught, i'm going to ask minghao to slap me.

but, thank god, HEUSC! you're one of my greatest creations! you got me out of that situation!

"park gumi?" jeonghan asked. "who's that?" jeonghan leaned to look at the computer screen with me.

i turn my head a little to the right while i explained. god, his face is so close. "she's a conman, or conwoman, if i must say. she knows all about the ability user mafias and about us, and she blackmailed seventeen not too long after you guys joined. i didn't do what she wanted me to do, so she made articles of the supernatural society everywhere, backed up by picture proof. but i can hack everything, so those articles are lost in the internet forever."

jeonghan gave me a small round of applause. i chuckled. "amazing, joshuji! but why is she requesting a meeting?"

"to try and con us again. i'm leaving, tell them i'm busy when someone asks for me." i say, turning off the screen of my computer when i'm sure i got all details. i grab my coat from another chair, ready to leave—when jeonghan stopped me all of a sudden.

"joshuji, i want to join!" jeonghan smiled at me, obviously trying to use his charm to have things his way. maybe it worked.

"don't follow loosely," i replied with a huff. i enter the lift immediately, and press 'B'. jeonghan was tapping his foot while waiting for the elevator doors to open, while i stretch a bit. who knows, she could get violent.

jeonghan and i enter my car, then i drive into the empty road.

"so tell me about this park gumi! what was she like? so i know how to act around her, you know!" jeonghan giggled, as i looked at him from the rearview mirror. did he really want to dig me up like this?

i know a lot more about park gumi.

"she's all fun, smiley and stuff but you can't let her demeanour decieve you. she's a con, remember?" i say, without looking at my companion. "i advise you not to get too close to her and slip up, giving her information."

"i won't, joshuji! i only want to get close to you!" jeonghan cooed, tickling my sides. okay, i said i missed this, but now i kind of not. we're going to die if he keeps on tickling me. "but how did she know that much about seventeen and the supernatural society? does she have an ability?"

here we go.

"jeonghan, i used to love park gumi." i heard a faint 'oh' from him, making me glance at him from the rearview mirror. "she knew everything about my ability and she traced me when i joined seventeen, when we already broke up that time."

i can't really read jeonghan's expression. for now, it's safe to say that he's just shocked. no signs of any negative emotion. "joshuji, you're not single from birth! then, you should have enough knowledge about affection! you should use it on me when we get together, joshuji!" jeonghan's voice cracked midway.

i don't understand why i expect him to have a negative reaction, and when i get one, such as his voice breaking—i could hear my heart thumping louder in my ears, pace getting faster as the drive lasted longer. "u-uh, sure."

"sure?!" jeonghan's negative emotions were wiped away from his face, and was replaced with a bright smile. "joshuji, you're saying that i have a chance?!"

oh my god. bad idea, he'll be overly clingy again. i shouldn't have said that. what the heck, hong jisoo? why are you like this?

"joshuji, understanding your past relation to each other—you know, because like, in movies—" jeonghan cuts himself off and sighs. i hear his foot tapping on the floor of my car.

i don't have the slightest idea on what jeonghan is talking about. movies? past relation to gumi? what?! what's the connection?

"you can use me, joshuji! as a fake boyfriend, or whatever you want me to be!" jeonghan exclaimed, shutting his eyes tight. was he nervous to say that? i mean, it takes guts to say that, and i admire jeonghan's ability to muster up courage fast.

what jeonghan said is a good idea. introducing jeonghan to gumi as my boyfriend would put her off guard for a while, plus jeonghan's personality would probably make her uncomfortable. enough variables to put me in an advantage.

"jeonghan, that's a good strategy, i must say." i said, slowing down as we reached the parking area for the meeting place, which was a resto. "but i don't want to use you, even if you offer. you're not an object, han-ah, you're a person."

fuck! i called him that nickname again! he'll be extra clingy later on, i tell you. i wanted to facepalm.

"y-you—" jeonghan cuts himself off to laugh. was it because he was amused? in disbelief? happiness that i don't view him as an object? disappointed that i was putting my morals first before giving my all in a mission? "hong jisoo, you are unnaceptable."

i furrow my eyebrows. huh?! "what?!"

"you complain why i chose you to pester and flirt on. you don't see it yourself, do you? aside from the fact that you're gorgeous, because only liking you for that is so superficial," he says, and we both laugh. "you're a gentleman, a cool guy, a man who puts others before himself, and you have a long patience! excepting that time you were sick, though. you were scary."

we both laugh harder. though, deep inside, i don't know what i feel. '—because only liking you for that is superficial,' yoon jeonghan, what do you mean? he just pointed out that he liked me, technically—but why wasn't he—argh!

yoon jeonghan, do you like me?